


Backup

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [48]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, More Like Talking Danny Down Out Of A Panic Attack, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 00:23:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14437428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: The stresses of parenting are a lot easier to take when you don’t have to do it alone.





	Backup

**Author's Note:**

> It's kind of funny to me - because I hear Danny and Steve SO strongly, in my head Grace defaults to being about 8 years old pretty much all the time. I have to work CONSTANTLY to remember how old she actually is.

“Spying apps,” Steve repeated flatly. It was a trick he'd learned from Danny, actually – describe the plan bluntly enough that the other person can hopefully figure out how terrible the idea is for themselves. “That you're going to use on Grace.”

“It's a _normal_ parent thing to do, Steven,” Danny argued, defensive enough that he clearly already knew it was a terrible idea and was clinging to it out of sheer stubbornness. “It has to be, or there wouldn't be enough market demand for people to make apps like these.”

Steve leaned back against the edge of his desk, folding his arms across his chest. He'd read a ton of parenting books just after he and Danny had gotten married, but the best advice he'd gotten had been from Danny himself – be the parent you wish you'd had, and things will usually work out.

That, and be there for your partner when he goes a little crazy. “I can't speak for other parents,” he said gently. “But it's possible that they don't have children with as much intelligence and common sense as our daughter.”

Danny threw his hands up in the air. “Intelligence and common sense don't mean anything once the hormones hit, especially when the state starts allowing her to drive around without a responsible adult in the car.” The defensiveness was gone, replaced by a much more genuine-sounding edge of desperation. “I know you might have been well behaved and responsible, but you're clearly a very strange exception to the rest of humanity. I was a lunatic when I was a teenager, and she has my _genes_.”

Realizing this was maybe not the type of conversation they wanted the rest of the team to weigh in on, Steve went over and shut his office door before turning back around to his husband. “She also has your stubbornness,” he countered, knowing he had to make it through the worry spiral building in Danny's head before any sympathy would work. “Which means that, if you discover anything because of this spying and try to confront her with it, she's going to automatically want to do whatever it is twice as much. And, more importantly, make sure to dump her phone before she does.”

Danny opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut again. He paced back and forth a few times, clearly wrestling with something, and Steve just stayed where he was and waited him out. Finally, he stopped, turning to Steve. “I could make the guy suffer.”

“Right now that guy is Will,” Steve responded calmly, holding up his fingers for emphasis, “who 1) you like, and 2) is as good a kid as Grace and probably won't do anything you have to make him suffer for.”

Danny's shoulders dropped. “And what if they break up?” He sounded exhausted now, like he was in the middle of some disaster instead of just worried about one. “What if she starts dating some asshole who tries to pressure her into stuff?”

“Knowing Grace, we'll probably get an angry call from the asshole's parents saying our daughter has sent him to the hospital,” Steve said gently, walking over and taking Danny by the shoulders. “We’ve both taught her every semi-legal trick we know.”

Danny’s brow lowered. “Whatever she does to him, he’ll deserve it.”

Steve smiled a little. “He absolutely will.”

Danny sighed. “What if it's not some guy?” Steve could hear something suspiciously close to despair in Danny’s voice now, which was the last thing he wanted. “What if it's just Grace, living up to my genetic legacy of being a fucking moron?”

“Then we'll deal with whatever happens as a family, the same way we always do,” Steve said firmly, bending down enough to meet Danny’s eyes. “But look at how well you turned out. Even if she makes some mistakes, I'm sure she'll grow up to be just as amazing as you are.” 

Steve didn’t consider himself an optimist – though compared to Danny, everyone was – but he had absolute faith in the people he loved. In moments like this, he let Danny borrow as much of it as he needed to.

Finally, some of the tension eased out of Danny’s muscles. “Since when are you the calm and sensible one?” he grumbled.

Steve grinned, knowing that Danny was winding down. “We take turns, remember? I'm pretty sure we actually said it in our vows somewhere.”

Danny groaned, dropping his forehead against Steve’s shoulder. Without lifting it, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Steve. “I hate you.”

Steve rubbed soothing circles along Danny’s back as he deleted the spy apps off of the phone with his other hand. “I know you do.”

Danny sighed, but this time it was a sound of release rather than defeat. “I couldn't do this without you.”

Steve’s chest tightened as he looked back at his husband. One of the first things he’d realized about Danny was what a wonderful father he was, and the idea that he was helping even a little was more than he could have imagined. “You did, for a long time.”

“Yeah,” Danny said quietly, voice suddenly thick with emotion. “Don't ever make me go back to that.”

Steve pressed a kiss against his hair. “I won't.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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